San Francisco Bankruptcy Lawyer Blog

Most people who are in conflict are at the lowest levels of tribal leadership. They feel that life sucks, their lives suck, or they are great. When people are less in conflict, they feel everyone is great or life is great. People in litigation can only hear things at their own level. To resolve litigious conflict, attorneys, mediators, and other dispute resolution methods must meet people where they are, and help them move up to the next level.

When people are in conflict, they are in uncertainty. To come out of chaos, a party should seek an attorney or dispute resolution methods that are able to summarize the concerns of the opposing party so that the other party feels that he is being heard. In negotiations, each party should start from the beginning rather than respond to what another party says. More information can be learned when people start at the top. If people claim they are also representing others not in the room, be aware that when people are not there to represent their own interests, it cannot really be that they actually think the same.

In summarizing concerns, conversations move from opposition to interest-based discussion. What people first say often are what is most important or most feared (what they are scared to lose). Searching for common concerns rather than differences prevents anger, which makes people less able to listen. This is like a parent scolding a child. The parent who does not yell, but whispers and speaks calmly gets the child to listen. Agreements are made out of what people can agree to, not what they don't want.

Often in dispute, people do not know what to do. They need space to think.

If you have any questions on resolving financial difficulties, please contact our office at 1-800-303-2964. Rinne Legal is located at 1990 North California Blvd., Walnut Creek, California 94596, with additional offices in Fairfield, Oakland, and Sacramento. Rinne Legal offers free initial consultations.

Community Boards is a place where people in dispute can go to resolve problems without litigation. Community Boards handles all types of disputes, including workplace, landlord-tenant, family. Community Boards' mediation approach is conciliation or the rebuilding of human relationships.

The mediators at Community Boards are volunteers, many with legal backgrounds. The mediators take into consideration the parties' emotions by recognizing that feelings should not be suppressed. Emotions help people survive by warning them of danger just like blood that oozes out when skin is cut. Anger is a life-saving response that motivates people to accomplish.

At Community Boards, a mediation begins with a briefing on the roles of mediators, signing a confidentiality agreement, and setting ground rules. A confidentiality document prevents any discussions from being used in litigation unless all parties agree. The ground rules are to preserve order. When things get out of hand, a mediator refers to the ground rules without singling a person out. For instance, when a party talks out of place, the mediator may tell the person to write down the idea on a piece of paper and bring it up when it is the person's time to speak. This acknowledges the importance of the idea, at the same time, staying focused on the current agenda or speaker.

Instead of only focusing on money as in most litigation, mediators at Community Boards explore beneath the iceberg into values, needs, intentions, assumptions, perceptions. When a mediator asks why things matter to a party, the party is less confrontational than when it comes from the opposition because the mediator does not have a stake in the outcome.

The mediator tries to keep people who are uncooperative as long as possible in a mediation because once the parties leave, it may be difficult to get them together again to move towards a solution.

Suggestions for resolving problems do not work when a party does not trust. To test the suggestions, the mediator asks for times when suggestions might not work. The mediator uses open ended questions, and watches when one party takes over the other by talking too much. Each party needs power from the opportunity to be heard. Once the parties start repeating facts, they show they have been heard and are done with their stories. But, if they are repeating emotions, they feel they have not been heard. The mediator might allow them to continue speaking, and keeps notes on how many times something has been said.

Continue reading "Community Boards' Mediation" »

When parties are in litigation, active listening helps to break conflict. Active listening builds confidence in the parties. It increases their willingness to listen to the other side.

The active listener, for instance, a mediator, encourages the parties to speak about the subject of dispute. The listener restates the basic ideas and facts discussed and reflects the feelings back to the speaker. This validates the person's feelings, ideas, actions. Presence when someone is speaking is shown through eye contact. Silence may be an effective form of listening. The listener focuses on where the disputant wants to go, rather than a bias to speak in a particular direction. The listener is not distracted by interrupting a lot, trying to finish sentences. After all, it is difficult to listening when talking at the same time.

When building trust as a listener, the speaker has to be able to vent and get true feelings out. Listening does not mean agreeing. The listener just see how the world looks to the speaker. The speaker should not assume the listener acknowledges any wrong or right.

Active listening is like aikido where the listener stays centered and sees conflict as opportunity for change. Centering heightens awareness and increases concentration. When people are centered, they become powerful in their awareness of viewpoints without judging, accepting of solutions to problems by adapting to new ideas.

If you have any questions on resolving financial difficulties, please contact our office at 1-800-303-2964. Rinne Legal is located at 1990 North California Blvd., Walnut Creek, California 94596, with additional offices in Fairfield, Oakland, and Sacramento. Rinne Legal offers free initial consultations.

Lawsuits may cause depression when there seems no end to the dispute. Depression is the opposite of vitality not happiness. Sadness goes away whereas depression affects concentration, and is not about the moment but the past. Memories of criticisms stay longer.

People in litigation may get caught up in negative thinking created by anxiety, and then lie, cheat, or steal, feeling helpless with no self-esteem to generate the things they want. Continue on when there are no alternatives. Resolving a lawsuit requires accurate thinking. Believe in possibilities even when they are not seen.

In a lawsuit, mediation is a confidential process to settle differences unencumbered by courtroom procedures. Mediation empowers parties to retain control of decisions. The mediator is a neutral third party who does not impose any outcome. In Alameda Superior Court, there is a list of panel mediators for parties to choose from who do not charge for all their time in preparation or facilitation. These mediators qualify for the panel after a 40-hour training on conflict and communication, continued training updates in mediator issues, and mediation experience in at least five civil cases.

Mediation starts off with both parties sending the mediator a brief. The brief may be any length, even a one-page letter. Because not all mediations result in settlements, the parties should be careful not reveal any information they do not want discovered by the other side. On the day of the mediation, usually the parties begin in the same room, summarizing their view of the facts to the other side and the mediator. Then, they may split into different rooms with the mediator shuttling back and forth between the rooms presenting settlement proposals.

Continue reading "Mediation" »

A bit of good news on the housing front as we head into the holiday weekend: new data indicates that home prices rose slightly in the southern part of the state during November, according to the Los Angeles Times. Higher prices typically mean both that more buyers are now in the market and that the number of houses coming into the system may be declining. That, in turn, may mean that we will soon see light at the end of the tunnel of the long California foreclosure crisis.

The data, compiled by a California real estate data company, MDA DataQuick, show the median Southern California home price rising 1.8% from October to November. As the Times notes, that would make November "the seventh consecutive month in which prices have improved or held steady."

As I've noted in this blog on several recent occasions, there are a number of public and private resources available to help homeowners avoid California foreclosure through loan modification and other negotiation and mediation programs. In the broadest of senses, keeping your home out of foreclosure through a California loan modification proceeding helps not only you (because you get to keep your home) but helps the state as well (because it improves the state's housing statistics and, through them, the overall economy).

An experienced California loan modification and mediation attorney can help plan a strategy for holding onto your property and navigating the complex world of foreclosure and bankruptcy law.

Los Angeles Times: Southern California home prices and sales improve in November

A recent op-ed published in the Bakersfield Californian highlights an important aspect of the housing crisis that often fails to get the attention it deserves: mediation. This is an area in which many people are not aware that a Northern California bankruptcy lawyer can be helpful.

As I noted in a recent blog post, the government is moving to help stem the tide of foreclosures here in California and nationwide. The centerpiece of this effort is the Treasury Department's Making Home Affordable program.

The program, however, has been plagued by delays - partly because it is complex, and partly, the government believes, because many lenders are less than eager to reach final settlements with distressed homeowners. In situations like this, Bay Area homeowners should consider consulting with a Contra Costa County mediation attorney. As the op-ed details, a bill now being considered by the California Assembly would establish a private-sector driven mediation process, modeled on the one already in place in Nevada (by some measures the worst hit state in the current housing crisis).

Even without this legislation, however, California mediation is worth considering as a way of bridging the gap between lenders and distressed homeowners faced with San Francisco or Alameda County foreclosure. An experienced San Francisco mediation lawyer can advise clients on California bankruptcy and loan modification options, and represent clients once they move forward in substantive discussions with their mortgage lenders.

Bakersfield Californian: As foreclosure crisis keeps growing, lenders, borrowers need mediation